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Category Archives: Biomass
Robert Rapier on why “fuel from CO2” breakthrough won’t work
Robert Rapier. Oct 27, 2016. Ethanol From Carbon Dioxide Is Still A Losing Proposition. energytrendinsider.com If I told you that I had created a process to extract pure gold from seawater, you might deem it an amazing accomplishment. If I … Continue reading
Posted in Biofuels, Biomass EROI, Far Out, Optimism & Critical Thinking, Other Experts
Tagged critical thinking, EROEI, ethanol
2 Comments
Steam powered farm tractors
[ Steam engines weren’t very efficient, 10 to 20% at best, which is why they went away beginning around 1920 when oil-powered engines came along. At the very best steam engines for transportation reached 10 to 20% efficiency. They were … Continue reading
Posted in Biomass-powered Steam Engines
Tagged agriculture, biomass, steam power, tractor, wood
6 Comments
Why studies come up with different Energy Returned on Invest (EROI) results: can it be fixed?
[ There are many issues with biofuels beyond their trivial to negative energy return on investment (EROI). In Peak Soil I point out that current industrial farming techniques are destroying topsoil about 15 times faster than pre-fossil fuel economies — … Continue reading
Posted in Biofuels, Biomass EROI, Charles A. S. Hall
Tagged biomass, EROEI, EROI, ethanol
Comments Off on Why studies come up with different Energy Returned on Invest (EROI) results: can it be fixed?
How burning biomass made us human
[ This is a book review of Wrangham’s “Catching Fire: How cooking made us human”. Fire enabled us to have larger brains from the increased calories in cooked food, held carnivores at bay, killed bacteria, and gave us many other … Continue reading
Are biofuels a sustainable and viable energy strategy?
[In 2000, Melanie Kenderine at the U.S. Department of energy stated that: “This nation has abundant biomass resources (grasses, trees, agricultural wastes) that have the potential to provide power, fuels, chemicals and other bio-based products” (136). That’s a good point … Continue reading
Posted in Biofuels, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested
Tagged biofuel, EROEI, EROI, net energy, subsidies
Comments Off on Are biofuels a sustainable and viable energy strategy?
National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap, Department of Energy
[ This is the best document of the many I’ve read. If my post Dozens of reasons why the world doesn’t run on algal biofuels didn’t convince you that the scientists are NOT likely to come up with something, get … Continue reading
Effects of biodiesel on diesel engines: John Deere
[ Since petroleum is finite, the most important focus of U.S. energy research ought to be keeping trucks operating, since civilization ends when trucks stop running. Ideally this would be done with a “drop-in” fuel that can be burned in … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiesel, Trucks
Tagged biodiesel, diesel engine, John Deere
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Benefits of promoting soil health in agriculture U.S. House hearing 2014
[ At last, 10 years after I first published “Peak soil: Why biofuels destroy ecosystems and civilizations“, Congress had a hearing that educated house members on why preserving topsoil is … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biomass, Infrastructure, Pesticides, Soil, Soil, Water
Tagged agriculture, cover crop, erosion, no-till, peak soil, soil health, U.S. House of representatives
Comments Off on Benefits of promoting soil health in agriculture U.S. House hearing 2014
Why methanol is not an option to replace gasoline or diesel
[ Below is a U.S. House hearing on alternative fuels from which I’ve extracted the methanol portions. Just a few of the reasons why this is not an option are: The California methanol effort was abandoned for many reasons, but … Continue reading
Posted in Methanol
Tagged M85, methanol, vehicle modifications
Comments Off on Why methanol is not an option to replace gasoline or diesel
Distribution – why it is so hard to add E15 or E85 at a gas station
[One of the huge hurdles to shifting from oil to “something else” is the chicken-or-egg problem of no one buying a new-fuel vehicle with few places to get it, so few vehicles are made, and service stations don’t add the … Continue reading
Posted in Biofuels
Tagged distribution, ethanol, service station
Comments Off on Distribution – why it is so hard to add E15 or E85 at a gas station